Zynga makes the CityVille take notice with $9 billion valuation

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Back in 2010 Google invested between $100 million and $200 million in Zynga. And now, the gaming company behind the likes of FarmVille and CityVille has seen the biggest internet business IPO since the search giant's $1.9 billion raised in 2004.

Zynga sold 100 million shares, 11 per cent of the company, for $10 a pop at its initial public offering, raising $1 billion and valuing the company at a staggering $9.1 billion.

It was estimated that the company would raise between $1.5 billion and $2 billion through its IPO but the recent stock market floatings of Groupon and LinkedIn have proved that a bumper IPO doesn't necessarily mean continued bloated trading - both are now trading below their initial prices - and we're sure the 2007 startup will be more than pleased.

Zynga is ubiquitous across Facebook, with four of five top gaming titles and has also expanded to Google+ recently. It also provides gaming apps for Apple's App Store and the Android Market. The San Francisco based company has over 2,000 employees and the impressive IPO comes despite a recent SEC filing showing that year-over-year profits were down 95 per cent, at $1.3 million versus $27.2 million for the previous period.

Facebook is the next big web company to hit the stock exchanges. It is expected to float sometime between April and June next year and there's talk of a $10 billion IPO, valuing the social network at more than $100 billion.